Sacramento Music Festival, Once Known As Jazz Jubilee, Coming To An End

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – It's the end of an era as the Sacramento Music Festival is coming to a close, organizers announced on Monday.

Once known as the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, the music fest had been a staple of Sacramento for the past 44 years. Organizers said it was the second largest festival in the US for 44 consecutive years.

In recent years, the name changed to the Sacramento Music Festival as the event moved away from the traditional jazz, swing, blues and ragtime artists originally spotlighted.

Monday morning, organizers posted a statement to the festival's Facebook page announcing the end of the event.

"Sadly though, the time has come for our Festival to say goodbye, and rally our followers to support the 'New' evolving and exciting Sacramento scene," organizers wrote.

Dennis Speciale, president of the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, cited rising costs and competition - along with diminishing audiences - as reasons for the festival's end.

"While the music festival was a beloved event in Sacramento, the rising costs of performer fees, the diminishing audiences who want to hear traditional jazz, and the competing mainstream for-profit music festivals around the country were the major factors that led us to our decision to end the music festival," Speciale said in a statement.

The event raised money for the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, which would then go to help support jazz camps and other educational programs.